Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1887-05-27
TIE LANGLEY BURGLARY,

THE LANGLEY I BURULAh L ,
The large party assembled as usual
at Langley towers to celebrate in ap-
proved fashion the approaching lst of
September were all collected one
night after dinner in the drawing
room, " hen the conversation, hither-
to rather languid, chanced to turn on
a burglary that had lately taken place
in the neighborhood. Every one at
once seized On the topic, and proceed
ed to relate, more or less irrelevant,
but all ali ke gastly, stories of famous
burglaries and robberies, till sudden
lv Miss Cecil Clifford, a cousin of
Langley's a very pretty girl and an
heiress to boot, who had hitherto ia
ken no part in the talk, looked up
suddenly and said:
II do wish you would not all dis
cuss such horrors. How do you ex-
pect us to sleep quietly in our beds if
You will insist on relating such fright
full stories, especially as those wretch
es who broke into Coleton Park are
still at large? l feel as if l should
find burglar in my room tonight,
so if rouse the house with false
alarm, don't blame me !"
IL think l should die if | were to
awake and see one in my ROOM" ex-
claimed little lady Langley, shrug,
ging her pretty white shoulders in
not wholly affected fright.
"At all events, the man would not
trouble you long with his company il
that tin case of yours, with your
Diamonds in it, were lying or your
dressing table. as usual" returned
her cousin. 81 know you'll be mur.
dered through those diamonds, one
day !"
sDo you really mean that Lady
Langley keeps her jewelry on her
dressipg-table?" asked Captain Le'
Marchant, an impecunous young man.
who was suspected, on very good
grounds, of being an nsieur with the
pretty heiress, and who was, in con
sequence, rather out of favor with her
guardians.
ITO be sure she does" laughed his
host; land, as Cecil says, know we
shall wake up some fine morning tc
find ourselves corpses because OF thai
whim of hers"
"What is the use of having jewelry
if it is always to be at the bankers!'
retorted Lady Langley.
81 wish to goodness you'd be sen
sible, Flo,'" demonstrated her cousin
"and have it kept in the plate room
at all events. | know that | shall dc
nothing but dream of your dia
monds %
Lady Langley laughed gayly, ant
seemed to take q malicious pleasure
in keeping the conversation on the
same subject, despite her cousins
very evident dislike of it, in wEicf
she was assisted by Captain LIE Mar
chant, who chaffed Miss Clifford {
great deal about her nerves, until the
party separated for the night.
Next morning the house was il
confusion, for the diamonds were
gone!
Lady Langley missed them the
moment she arose, for, her maid be
ing far from we'll at the time, she het
hidden the girl not to sit up for her
leaving her diamonds, which she hat
been wearing, loose on her dressing
table where Cecil Clifford found then
when she came to her Cousins room
to bid her goodnight as usual, ant
sic put them in their case OF course
every hole and corner was searched
but in vain. The police came, bu
were equally unsuccessful. Not {
trace of either the thieves or the jew
elry were to be found. The police
including the detective hastily sum
moned from London, were positiv,
that the robbery had been committet
by some one in the house-conyictiol
that did not add to the comfort Of tht
inmates of Langley Towers. Sus
picion ran riot; the household ser
wants, orc and all, belonged to well
known and respectable families in tn
neighborhood, and had mostly beel
for considerable periods in the Lang
Ieys' service; while the visitors ser
wants. it happened, seemed equal,
above suspicion The only perso
who ventured to differ from the off
cials was Captain LIE Marchant, VIII
openly pooh-poohed the whole thini
as simply invented by the police t
screen their own incompetence.
| Whether from conviction or oppo
sition, Miss Clifford embraced the pc
lice theory and before long her su:
picion fell on the maid of one of tn
visitors, whom she felt convinced wa
at last an accomplice Unfortunate
| ly for this poor girl, Cecil Cliflor
conGded her doubts to her cousin
who in her turn unconsciously bt
trayed them to the detective, SO th
unlucky maid was Immediately pla'
ed under surveillance that reudere
her life burden to her, aud ultimate
ly cost her her situation.
Captain LIE Marchant demonstrate
several times on the subject with hi
fance-for such she really was, thoug
the engagement was not officially a
knowledged-but without affect Sh
somehow seemed to distrust him, O
of late, for some cause or other, b
usually sunny temper had quite d
serted him; his tongue had acquired
L L. fnin IL.